Not kale.

It was a salad we picked up for lunch on our way home from a weekend away. It’s sold at New Leaf, a market in Half Moon Bay, about 30 miles down the coast.

I wanted to work out the magic behind the recipe. Argument-inducing kale bears imitating. The core essentials are lemon juice and something called Bragg Liquid Aminos. If you’re unfamiliar with Bragg, it’s unfermented soy, similar in flavor to soy sauce, sold in health food stores and organic markets. The salty, lemony combination effectively tenderizes the kale and tames the texture.

Beyond that, the salad features sliced red onion along with roasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds. The grated carrots were my own addition, giving the greens extra color and crunch. Buying pre-chopped, bagged kale and pre-grated carrots takes nearly all of the work out of this recipe, which is best made a day ahead.

I served it for dinner and watched my people take down six cups of kale in one sitting. Yes indeed, a kale salad kids love

If it turns out your children don’t like this salad, I’m guessing you will, and since it keeps for several days in the fridge, you’ll be good for greens for the better part of the week.

A Kale Salad Kids Love

The kale in this salad makes it a nutrient powerhouse, rich in calcium, vitamin C, potassium, and folate, among others. If you don't have Bragg Liquid Aminos, use soy sauce instead, only cut back slightly on the amount, taste, then add more as needed.

Course
Salad

Prep Time10minutes

Servings4to 6 servings

Calories102kcal

Authorkatiemorford

Ingredients

6cupsroughly chopped kale(tough stems removed)

1tablespoonplus 1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos

2 1/2tablespoonslemon juice

2teaspoonstoasted sesame oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch salt

1/2large red onion,thinly sliced

2coarsely grated carrots

1/4cuproasted sunflower seeds(salted or unsalted)

1/4cuproasted pumpkin seeds(salted or unsalted)

Instructions

Put the kale, Bragg Liquid Aminos, lemon juice, sesame oil, and salt in a big bowl and use your hands to mash the kale for a good minute, mixing it with the liquids. Add the onion, carrots, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds and toss well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight. Stir again just before serving.

I am so excited to try this kale salad- always looking for a new way to serve greens! You brought up that Braggs is similar to soy sauce and I was wondering if you could use the two interchangeably and nutritionally the difference?

If you read the recipe headnote, I mention substituting with soy sauce. Soy sauce is fermented and Bragg is not fermented. Some folks swear by Bragg, but the amount of protein, and thus amino acids, per tablespoon is tiny so not sure there’s much there nutritionally. Both are high in sodium.

That’t tricky Angelica. You could up the sesame oil a little and season it with salt. That’s what I might try first. You could also try a little fish sauce…..I can’t be sure how it will be. It’s worth playing around with.

My mother-in-law lives in HMB and made this for us when she visited us last year in the Spring (we live in Georgia). Then we made it for our family reunion (up in NY) and everyone LOVED it! It’s the best when made ahead for sure! Thanks so much for sharing!

I made this for my 14-year-old, who tolerates certain vegetables, but is suspicious of leafy greens and has never willingly eaten Kale. She not only liked it; she had seconds! (She liked your chicken parm, too.) I thought it was delicious and plan to put it in the regular rotation. Kale salad – 1, Hot Pockets – 0!

Made this over the weekend. Kids (7 and 9) both loved it & they are not normally salad eaters. They wanted to eat it again the next night. We added quinoa instead of seeds. I love that you can make it ahead!

OK. Kale has been growing in my garden all summer. and now it looks even better in the crisp days of fall. but the kids won’t eat it except to nibble on stems like celery sticks. I will HAVE to try this!! Had so much popping around your site…again!